- Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview that the company is "open" to acquire AI startups.
- He further mentioned that Apple is significantly growing its efforts in the AI field and looking to accelerate its roadmap.
- This could come as a response to the company's leading AI talents jumping over to Meta.
It’s no secret that Apple is struggling to compete in the current AI landscape. Now, the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, has confirmed that the Cupertino giant is “open” to acquisitions to accelerate its roadmap.
In an interview with CNBC, discussing Apple’s third-quarter earnings, Cook said that Apple views AI as “one of the most profound technologies of our lifetime.” And as a result, “We are significantly growing our investments,” further adding, “We’re open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap”.
“We are significantly growing our investments. We’re open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap.”
Apple’s previous attempts with Apple Intelligence, especially its ambitions with Siri, has not come to fruition as expected. And in turn, the company received a lot of backlash, as well as lawsuits. Most of Apple’s top AI talents are switching sides to Meta while some of its biggest competitors are thriving in the same space.
This leaves Apple in a desperate position, where acquiring another AI startup would be its only option. There were rumors that the company is in talks with Anthropic or OpenAI to create an LLM version of Siri. But it doesn’t seem like Apple is moving forward with the partnership. There were also plans to acquire Perplexity AI, which is currently valued at $18 billion.
Acquiring Perplexity sounds like the only viable option, since some of the other well-known AI startups may not be interested in acquisition. But the time is not on Apple’s side, and if they take too long, then they might get left behind in the growing AI race.
